


across the landing

by skymageariel



Category: The Dragon Prince
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:34:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26367265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skymageariel/pseuds/skymageariel
Summary: after the events of through the moon, Callum finally finds what he’s been looking for
Relationships: Rayllum (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 57





	across the landing

He’d been searching for months, praying that stupid phrase wasn’t the last thing Rayla said to him. 

_ White lies are illusions you build with your words to protect the hearts of those you love. _

Callum kept that letter in his pocket, holding it close wherever he went, rereading the lines over and over again, searching for any hint of Rayla’s whereabouts. He’d charted maps, over and over and over again, marking every forest, every river, every town. He’d travelled to all of Xadia in a desperate search for almost a year, skipping meals and losing sleep. Hunched over his desk, marking maps for what he told himself was the last time, he prepared to make one last journey. One last expedition, because he wasn’t coming home without her. 

Mentally checking off the items he’d need, Callum stuffed his backpack full. Map, check. Compass, check. Letter, check. He was packed, ready to leave once more. 

He threw his backpack over his shoulder, turning to head out of his room. Only to be stopped by Ezran, standing in the threshold, holding a light blue feather between his thumb and index finger.

“H-hey, Ez,” Callum croaked through a dry throat. 

“Hi, Callum,” Ezran replied. “Do you know why I’m here?”

“To join me on my last trip to find Rayla?” Callum guessed, but judging by the solemn look on his little brother’s face, he quickly realized he’d guessed wrong.

“No,” Ez said, holding out the feather. Callum recognized it as the one Rayla left behind. The one that would unlock the moon nexus under a full moon. “It’s the one place we haven’t looked,” Ezran told him.

“No,” Callum said, “I’m not looking there. I know she’s still here.”

“That’s an order, Callum.” Ezran stood straighter, face set in stone. Callum furrowed his brow, studying his little brother. 

“What did you say to me?”

“I said,  _ that’s an order _ .”

“You can’t make me look there,” Callum barked, stepping closer. Ezran didn’t flinch. “That’s the last place I want to look, and I know she isn’t in there.”

“It’s the last place you have  _ left _ to look,” Ezran said, raising his voice to meet Callum’s tone. “I’ve seen your maps, your charts. You have nowhere else to go. You’ve been everywhere. There’s not a sign of her, not here, not in Xadia. This place is a last resort, and now, we have to utilize it.”

“I’m not going, end of story,” Callum snarled, brushing past his little brother and striding down the hall.

Ezran watched Callum continue down the hall, fury rising from him. He knew there was nowhere else to go. He hated seeing Callum like this.

“I’m worried about you,” he called down the hall, voice echoing off the brick walls and towering ceilings. Callum stopped in his tracks, but didn’t turn around. Ezran continued. “You haven’t eaten in days. There’s circles under your eyes. You’re exhausted, and you won’t rest until you find her. I know that.” He took a step closer to his brother, waiting for a reaction. When there wasn’t, he stepped forward again. “If she’s not there,” Ezran said, voice lowering to a calm tone, “then I’ll re-launch the kingdom-wide search. I’ll assign Amaya and Corvus to lead the team across Xadia. We’ll do it all again.” Callum’s shoulders began to shake, but he still didn’t move. “As your brother, I care about you. You’re tearing yourself apart. I know you’re scared, but this is a chance at closure.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Callum snarled, voice hoarse.

“You’re scared of what you might find, but this is a chance to assure yourself she’s not there.”

“And if she is?” Callum turned, facing his brother with a stone cold expression, born from anger. Ezran studied him, seeing his sunken cheeks and gaunt eyes up close.

“Then we know.”

“I already know.” Callum leaned close, eye level. “She’s. Not. There.”

Ezran didn’t flinch, nor did he back down. “As king,” he began in a livid whisper, “I am ordering you to take this feather. I am ordering you to go to the nexus. I am ordering you to look for her there.”

Callum clenched his jaw. “Fine,” he growled through gritted teeth as Ezran stuffed the feather in his hand. He turned around again, and began walking away, muscles tense and stiff.

“And I’m sending Soren with you,” Ezran called after him. “To make sure you actually go.”

“The trust you have in me is astounding.”

—-

After a week of walking the same path for the third time, Soren and Callum made it to Lujane’s camp, though the illusionist herself was nowhere to be found. 

The moment they passed the camp boundaries, Callum dropped his bag, and Soren fell to the ground, exhausted. Callum looked to the sky- the sun was sinking, due to set in under an hour. Tonight's moon was full, tonight he’d be able to see if Ezran was wrong about Rayla’s whereabouts.

“You go on,” Soren said, exasperated and flat on the ground. “I’m just gonna rest here for a bit.”

“C’mon,” Callum said, picking up his bag, and offering Soren a hand. “We’re not far from a bed. You can rest there.”

“How are you not exhausted?” Soren asked, grabbing Callum’s hand and pulling himself up. Callum shrugged. 

“I’ve been doing this for months.”

Together, they walked to the room where Callum and Rayla had stayed a year previous. Stepping inside sent chills down his spine. Her bed was unkempt and empty, just as she left it. The sight left a lump in Callum’s throat. 

“Dude,” Soren said over Callum’s shoulder, causing him to jump, “You gonna pick a bed, or are you just gonna stand there?”

“Right, sorry.” He stepped closer to Rayla’s old bed, and Soren collapsed on the other, face first.

“How long until the moon’s up?” he mumbled through the comforter. 

“An hour.” Callum sat on the edge of the mattress, pulling the letter from his pocket once more. He tried to picture Rayla, sitting in this exact spot, one year prior. He pictured Rayla, looking over at a sleeping Callum, knowing full well that he expected her to be there when he woke up. He pictured Rayla writing this stupid letter anyways, as if she didn’t expect him to try and follow her. 

Callum scoffed and tucked the letter inside his pocket again, replacing it with the blue feather Ezran had given him. He debated not using it. He debated letting Soren sleep, tossing the feather outside and telling Soren that he had done the ritual while he slept, that Rayla wasn’t there, and they still had the whole world to search. 

And then he remembered Ezran. And he decided that if Ezran wanted him to, he must have a good reason. 

An hour passed, the sun was gone, replaced by pale moonlight that made each building shimmer in the night. 

Wordlessly, Callum stood and walked away, deciding to let Soren sleep. 

He strode along the familiar moonstone paths, relishing the soft taps of his boots on the walkway in the silent night, making his way to the ledge Rayla dove from before. 

He walked with his head down, hands stuffed in his pockets, ignoring the pain in his stomach and the pounding in his chest. He prayed to whatever god might be listening to not find Rayla in the portal. He wished and hoped that no matter where he looked on the other side, he wouldn’t find her. And as he climbed the steps to the ledge, holding that stupid feather in his clammy hands, he whispered out loud-

“Please don’t let me find her there.”

“Find who?” said a voice, all too familiar. Callum’s head snapped up, staring in disbelief. 

Across from the stairs, standing at the edge of the landing, was someone Callum knew all too well. She was taller, thinner, and looked awful. And beautiful. There were dark circles under her eyes, but the markings on her cheeks told Callum all he needed to know about who he was looking at.

He stood, frozen. 

Then, he reached in his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper that he’d been carrying for a year. He crumpled it up and tossed it on the ground in front of him.

“That was it,” he said through clenched teeth, staring at the girl in front of him. “That was all you left me.”

“Callum, I-“

“No.” Callum held up a hand and stepped forward, crushing the ball of parchment under his shoe. “I don’t want to hear it.” He stuffed both hands back in his pockets, taking another step forward. “You promised me we would go together.”

“Callum-“

“You  _ promised.  _ Rayla, you  _ promised. _ ”

“And I’m sorry, but-“

“You left me with one sentance for an entire year. A year of wondering if you were dead or not. A year of wondering what I’d done to make you leave in the middle of the night.” He strode towards her, wanting so badly to be livid, to yell and cry. But the way she looked up at him, lilac eyes shimmering in the moonlight, everything else seemed to fly away. Any trace of a worried expression in Rayla’s disappeared, replaced by pure relief.

“I missed you,” Rayla whispered.

“I missed you too,” Callum replied, voice breaking as he threw his arms around her, hardly believing it was her. 

“I’m sorry-“

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he breathed. They melted together, sinking to the ground, each vowing silently to never let go. Never again would they let go.

**Author's Note:**

> never planned on posting this, but i am an attention whore .


End file.
